Low voltage diode with reduced parasitic resistance and method for fabricating

ABSTRACT

A method of making a diode begins by depositing an Al x Ga 1-x N nucleation layer on a SiC substrate, then depositing an n+ GaN buffer layer, an n− GaN layer, an Al x Ga 1-x N barrier layer, and an SiO 2  dielectric layer. A portion of the dielectric layer is removed and a Schottky metal deposited in the void. The dielectric layer is affixed to the support layer with a metal bonding layer using an Au—Sn utectic wafer bonding process, the substrate is removed using reactive ion etching to expose the n+ layer, selected portions of the n+, n−, and barrier layers are removed to form a mesa diode structure on the dielectric layer over the Schottky metal, and an ohmic contact is deposited on the n+ layer.

This application is a divisional from, and claims the benefit of, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/655,696, filed Jan. 19, 2007, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,834,367 to Parikh et al., having the same title as thepresent application.

GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

This invention was made with Government support under DARPA Contract No.4400129974 (as subcontractor—Raytheon as prime). The Government hascertain rights in this invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is concerned with diodes, and more particularly diodesexhibiting low on-state forward voltage and reduced parasiticresistance.

A diode is an electronic component that restricts the direction ofmovement of charge carriers. The diode essentially allows an electriccurrent to flow in one direction, but substantially blocks current flowin the opposite direction.

Diode rectifiers are one of the most widely used devices in low voltageswitching, power supplies, power converters and related applications.For efficient operation, it is desirable for such diodes to operate withlow on-state voltage (a forward voltage drop V_(f) of 0.1-0.4V orlower), low reverse leakage current, a voltage blocking capability of20-30V, and high switching speed. These features are important toachieve high conversion efficiency, which is the final goal of anyrectifier for low voltage applications.

The most common diodes are based on semiconductor pn-junctions,typically using silicon (Si), with impurity elements introduced tomodify, in a controlled manner, the diode's operating characteristics.Diodes can also be formed from other semiconductor materials, such asgallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon carbide (SiC). In a pn diode,conventional current can flow from the p-type side (the anode) to then-type side (the cathode), but not in the opposite direction.

A semiconductor diode's current-voltage, or I-V, characteristic curve isattributable to the depletion layer or depletion zone that exists at thepn junction between the differing semiconductor layers. When a pnjunction is first created, conduction band (mobile) electrons from then-doped region diffuse into the p-doped region, where there is a largepopulation of holes (locations for electrons where no electron ispresent) with which the electrons can “recombine”. When a mobileelectron recombines with a hole, the hole vanishes and the electron isno longer mobile, i.e., two charge carriers are eliminated. The regionaround the p-n junction becomes depleted of charge carriers and thusbehaves as an insulator.

The width of the depletion zone, however, cannot grow without limit. Foreach electron-hole pair that recombines, a positively charged dopant ionis left behind in the n-doped region and a negatively charged dopant ionis left behind in the p-doped region. As recombination proceeds and moreions are created, an increasing electric field develops through thedepletion zone, which acts to slow and then eventually stoprecombination. At this point, there is a ‘built-in’ potential across thedepletion zone.

If an external voltage is placed across the diode with the same polarityas the built-in potential, the depletion zone continues to act as aninsulator, preventing any significant electric current. This is thereverse bias phenomenon. If the polarity of the external voltage opposesthe built-in potential, however, recombination can once again proceed,resulting in substantial electric current through the p-n junction. Forsilicon diodes, the built-in potential is approximately 0.6 V. Thus, ifan external current is passed through the diode, about 0.6 V will bedeveloped across the diode, causing the p-doped region to be positivewith respect to the n-doped region. The diode is said to be ‘turned on’,as it has a forward bias.

A diode's I-V characteristic can be approximated by two regions ofoperation. Below a certain difference is potential between the two leadsattached to the diode, the depletion layer has significant width, andthe diode can be thought of as an open (non-conductive) circuit. As thepotential difference is increased, at some point the diode will becomeconductive and allow charges to flow. The diode can then be consideredas a circuit element with zero (or at least very low) resistance. In anormal silicon diode at rated currents, the voltage drop across aconducting diode is approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts.

In the reverse bias region for a normal p-n rectifier diode, the currentthrough the device is very low (in the μA range) for all reversevoltages up to a point called the peak inverse voltage (PIV). Beyondthis point, a process called reverse breakdown occurs, which causes thedevice to be damaged, accompanied by a large increase in current.

One disadvantage of a junction diode is that, during forward conduction,the power loss in the diode can become excessive for large current flow.Another type of diode, the Schottky barrier diode, utilizes a rectifyingmetal-to-semiconductor barrier instead of a pn junction. The junctionbetween the metal and the semiconductor establishes a barrier regionthat, when properly fabricated, will minimize charge storage effects andimprove the switching performance of the diode by shortening itsturn-off time. [L. P. Hunter, Physics of Semiconductor Materials,Devices, and Circuits, Semiconductor Devices, Page 1-10 (1970)].

Common Schottky diodes have a lower forward voltage drop thanpn-junction diodes and are thus more desirable in applications whereenergy losses in the diode can have a significant negative impact on theperformance of the system, e.g., where diodes are used as outputrectifiers in a switching power supply. For such applications, it ishighly desirable to provide a rectifier with a very low forward voltagedrop (0.1-0.4V), reduced reverse leakage current, low voltage blockingcapability (20-30V), and high switching speed. These features areimportant to achieve high conversion efficiency, which is the final goalof any rectifier that is to be used for low voltage applications.

Schottky diodes can be used as low loss rectifiers, although theirreverse leakage current is generally much higher than other rectifierdesigns. Schottky diodes are majority carrier devices; as such, they donot suffer from minority carrier storage problems that slow down mostnormal diodes. They also tend to have much lower junction capacitancethan pn diodes, which contributes to their high switching speed.

One way to reduce the on-state voltage below 0.5V in a conventionalSchottky diode is to reduce the diode's surface barrier potential.Reducing the barrier potential, however, results in a tradeoff ofincreased reverse leakage current. In addition, the reduced barrier candegrade high temperature operation and result in soft breakdowncharacteristics under reverse bias operation.

In addition, for Schottky diodes that are made of GaAs; one disadvantageof this material is that the Fermi level (or surface potential) is fixedor pinned at approximately 0.7 volts. (Si Schottky diodes also have thislimitation to a certain extent.) As a result, the on-state forwardvoltage (V_(f)) is fixed. Regardless of the type of metal used tocontact the semiconductor, the surface potential in such a diode cannotbe lowered to lower V_(f).

One solution to this limitation with GaAs is the gallium nitride (GaN)material system. GaN has a 3.4 eV wide direct bandgap, high electronvelocity (2×10⁷ cm/s), high breakdown fields (2×10⁶ V/cm) and theavailability of heterostructures. GaN based low voltage diodes canachieve reduced forward voltage drops in comparison with conventionalSchottky diode rectifiers (See, e.g., Parikh, et al., Gallium NitrideBased Diodes with Low Forward voltage and Low Reverse Current Operation,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/445,130, filed May 20, 2003, whichis commonly assigned and the specification of which is incorporatedherein by reference as if described in its entirety).

GaN low voltage diodes, however, can be typically fabricated on a SiC orGaN substrate. For a vertical diode device, the substrate is in theconductive path and contributes to the voltage drops. With typicalsubstrate resistivity values of around 20-30 mohm-cm for SiC/GaNsubstrates, a 200 μm thick substrate will add 40-60 mV of voltage dropat an operating current density of 100 A/cm². This additional voltagedrop is unacceptable, since the target for total voltage drop atoperating current is <200 mV. Furthermore, for the most commonly usedSiC substrate (GaN substrates are expensive and small in diameter), anadditional barrier is encountered at the GaN epi-SiC substrateinterface. While there are techniques used to mitigate this barrier,they add extra complexity and may also contribute to increasedresistance.

Consequently, a need has developed in the art for diodes that can beoperated with lower forward voltage drops.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a semiconductor diode structure and method forfabrication a diode structure that substantially reduces parasiticresistance in the diode and eliminates the associated resistive voltagedrops.

A method of making a diode involves depositing an n+ semiconductingbuffer layer on a substrate, depositing an n− semiconducting layer onthe n+ layer, depositing a semiconducting barrier layer on the n− layer,and depositing a dielectric layer on the barrier layer. A portion of thedielectric layer is then removed, and a Schottky metal is deposited onthe barrier layer in the void left by the removed portion. Thedielectric layer and the Schottky metal are affixed to a conductivesupport layer with a metal bonding layer, the substrate is removed toexpose the n+ layer, portions of the n+, n−, and barrier layers areselectively removed to form a mesa diode structure on the dielectriclayer over the Schottky metal; and an ohmic contact is deposited on then+ layer.

A second method of making a diode, is similar to the first, except that,after depositing a Schottky metal on the barrier layer, selectiveportions of the n+ and n− layers are removed to form a mesa diodestructure under the Schottky metal, the substrate is removed under themesa diode structure to form a via, and an ohmic contact is deposited onthe n+ layer in the via.

A third method of making a diode is similar to the second method, exceptthat the substrate is a GaN substrate and that, after selective portionsof the n+ and n− layers are removed to form a mesa diode structure, theGaN substrate is thinned to reduce parasitic substrate resistance andthe ohmic contact is deposited on the thinned substrate.

In more particular embodiments, the n+ layer, the n− layer, and thebarrier layer comprise Group III nitrides. A nucleation layer may bedeposited on the substrate, prior to depositing the n+ layer on thesubstrate. The nucleation layer may be Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, and the n+ layermay be n+ doped GaN, particularly, a layer of GaN between 0.5 and 5 μmthick and doped with an impurity concentration of between 5×10¹⁷/cm³ and5×10¹⁹/cm³.

The n− layer may be n− doped GaN, particularly, a layer of GaN between0.5 and 5 μm thick and doped with an impurity concentration of between1×10¹⁵/cm³ and 1×10¹⁷/cm³. The barrier layer may be AlGaN, particularlya layer with 30% Al for the Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N with 15≦x≦45. The thicknessof the barrier layer may be between 0-30 A, particularly 5 A. Thedielectric layer may be a SiO₂ dielectric layer. The Schottky metal maybe selected from the group consisting of Cr, Ge, Fe, Mn, Nb, Ni, NiCr,Sn, Ta, Ti, and W, preferably Cr.

The conductive support layer may be metallized Si, while the dielectriclayer may be affixed to the support layer with a metal bonding layerusing an Au—Sn Eutectic wafer bonding process. The ohmic contactmaterial may be selected from the group consisting of Al/Au and Ti/Au orother suitable ohmic contacts to n+ GaN. Removing the substrate toexpose the n+ layer may be accomplished using reactive ion etching.After affixing the dielectric layer to the support layer with a metalbonding layer, a backside bonding layer may be affixed to the supportlayer opposite the dielectric layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of a diode constructedaccording to the invention;

FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are sectional views illustratingthe steps in a process of fabricating a diode according to theinvention;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are graphs depicting the performance measured for diodesconstructed according to the invention; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are sectional views, analogous to FIG. 1, depictingalternative embodiments of diodes constructed according to theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides rectifier diodes with very low forward voltage(V_(f)) values, for use in applications such as high efficiency powersupplies, as well as other applications such as low voltage switchingpower supplies and power converters.

In one embodiment of a method according to the present inventionprovides full-wafer bonding of gallium nitride devices on a SiCsubstrate with front-side processing completed, to a metalized wafercarrier wafer. The SiC substrate is removed and ohmic contacts areplaces directly on the n+ GaN epitaxial layer. This eliminates theGaN—SiC interface barrier/resistance path as well as the SiC substrateresistance path. This helps minimize or reduce the parasitic resistivevoltage drops.

It is also understood that when an element such as a layer, region orsubstrate is referred to as being “on” another element, it can bedirectly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. Furthermore, relative terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “upper”,“above”, “lower”, “beneath”, and “below”, and similar terms, may be usedherein to describe a relationship of one layer or another region. It isunderstood that these terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures.

Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference tocross-sectional view illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments of the invention. As such, variations from theshapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances are expected. Embodiments of the inventionshould not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of theregions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes thatresult, for example, from manufacturing. A region illustrated ordescribed as square or rectangular will typically have rounded or curvedfeatures due to normal manufacturing tolerances. Thus, the regionsillustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes arenot intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region of a device andare not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a Schottky diode 100 constructed inaccordance with the present invention that can be fabricated from manydifferent material systems. The diode 100 is shown as a single devicefor ease of description and understanding, but as further describedbelow, the diodes 100 are typically fabricated at a wafer level and thensingulated from the wafer into individual devices. Thousands of devicesare typically fabricated from a single wafer level process.

The preferred diode 100 is fabricated using the Group-III nitride basedmaterial system. Group-III nitrides include the semiconductor compoundsformed between nitrogen and the elements in Group-III of the periodictable, usually aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), and indium (In). This groupalso includes ternary and tertiary compounds such as AlGaN and AlInGaN.The preferred materials for the diode are GaN and AlGaN.

The diode 100 includes a substrate 102 of conductive material, that canbe made of different materials but is preferable metallized silicon (Si)that acts as a conductive support layer for the device. A metal bondinglayer 104 connects the support layer 102 to a Schottky metal layer 106.A semiconducting AlGaN barrier layer 108 is disposed on the Schottkylayer opposite the bonding layer, with an n− semiconducting GaN layer110 disposed on the barrier layer. An n+ semiconducting GaN buffer layer112 is disposed on the n− layer. Finally, an ohmic contact 114, whichprovides an electrical connection to the diode through the layer 112, isdisposed on the layer 112.

One method of making the diode depicted in FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS.2-10, and the method is described herein with reference to a singledevice with the understanding that the method is equally applicable tofabricated devices at the wafer level. The method is described withreference to certain materials having particular compositions, but it isunderstood that different materials can used having differentcompositions.

The method begins, as depicted in FIG. 2, with the deposition of anAl_(x)Ga_(1-x)N nucleation layer 116 on a substrate 118, with the AlNcomposition (i.e., x=1) being preferred for the nucleation layer 116. Avariety of materials for the substrate 118, such as silicon, sapphireand silicon carbide, can be used for the substrate. The substrate 118 ispreferably silicon carbide (SiC), however, which has a much closercrystal lattice match to Group III nitrides than sapphire and results inGroup III nitride films of higher quality. SiC substrates are availablefrom Cree Research, Inc., of Durham, N.C. and methods for producing themare set forth in the scientific literature, as well as in, e.g., U.S.Pat. Nos. Re. 34,861; 4,946,547; and 5,200,022.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, an n+ semiconducting buffer layer 112 isdeposited on the nucleation layer 116. The buffer layer is preferablyGaN between 0.5 and 5 μm thick, doped with an impurity concentration ofbetween 5×10¹⁷/cm³ and 5×10¹⁹/cm³.

In FIG. 4, an n− semiconducting layer 110 is then deposited on thebuffer layer 112, with the layer 110 preferably being formed of GaNbetween 0.5 and 5 μm thick, doped with an impurity concentration ofbetween 1×10¹⁵/cm³ and 1×10¹⁷/cm³.

A semiconducting barrier layer 108 of Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, as shown in FIG.5, is deposited on the n− layer 110. The barrier layer 108 is preferably5 Å thick and with a composition within the range of 15≦x≦45. The n+, n−and barrier layers may be deposited by deposition techniques known inthe semiconductor fabrication art, including, e.g., metal-organicchemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).

Next, as depicted in FIG. 6, an SiO₂ dielectric layer 120 is depositedon the barrier layer 108, then, as shown in FIG. 7, a portion of thedielectric layer is removed and a Schottky metal 106 is deposited in thevoid remaining after the portion has been removed, so that the Schottkymetal is in electrical contact with the barrier layer 108. Standardmetallization techniques, as known in the art of semiconductorfabrication, can be used to form the Schottky metal, which is preferablyCr, although other metals could be used to achieve a low barrier height,the preferred materials being Cr, Fe, Mn, Nb, Ni, NiCr, Sn, Ta, Ti, Ge,and W. Schottky metals with different work functions result in differentbarrier potentials. Cr provides an acceptable barrier potential for adiode with Vf of around 0.2 v and is easy to deposit by conventionalmethods.

The metal should be chosen to provide a low Schottky barrier potentialand low V_(f), but high enough so that the reverse current remains low.If the metal chosen, for example, had a work function equal to thesemiconductor's electron affinity, the barrier potential would approachzero (except in the case of a tunnel diode), resulting in a V_(f) thatapproaches zero and also increases the diode's reverse current, suchthat the diode would become ohmic in nature and provide norectification.

The dielectric layer 120 is used as a protective layer and can beremoved selectively at various points in the process. Alternatively, theSchottky metal could be deposited in a complete layer, then etched offlater to define the Schottky barrier contact.

At this point, as shown in FIG. 8, the structure is flipped over and thedielectric layer/Schottky metal is bonded to a metallized Si conductivesupport layer 102 by means of a metal bonding layer 104, preferablyutilizing an Au—Sn utectic wafer bonding process. The bonding layer isthick metal, which exhibits a higher coefficient of thermal expansionthan Si. Consequently, when a bonded wafer cools after the bondingprocess, this difference in thermal expansion may cause tensile stressin the bonding layer. When the substrate 118 is later removed, asdescribed below, the tensile stress in the bonding layer may cause thesupport layer 102 and the remaining layers to bow. This distortion inthe layers is undesirable for subsequent fabrication steps, particularlythose involving photolithography.

The tensile stress effect can be ameliorated by adding an optionalbackside bonding layer 122 to the backside of the layer 104 (thebackside bonding layer should be contacted by a nonmetallic surfaceduring the bond process, to ensure that it adheres only to the supportlayer 102, and not to the bond tool). With the additional bond layer,tensile stress is introduced in both bonding layers upon cool down. Thestress in the backside bonding layer counteracts the stress introducedby the bond layer 102 to minimize the bowing after the removal of thesubstrate 118.

Next, as depicted in FIG. 9, the SiC substrate 118 and the nucleatinglayer 116 are thinned and removed, and different removal methods can beused according to the present invention. In one embodiment most of theSiC substrate is removed by grinding, leaving only a remaining thinlayer (e.g. 10-30 micron) that can be removed by reactive ion etching orother dry etching like Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching (ICP).

As shown in FIG. 10, selected portions of the n+, n−, and barrier layersare then removed to form a mesa diode structure on the SiO₂ dielectriclayer 120 over the Schottky metal 106. The removal can be accomplishedby a number of etching techniques known in the semiconductor fabricationart, including, e.g., chemical etching, reactive ion etching (RIE), andion mill etching. Finally, an ohmic contact 114 is deposited on the n+layer 112 to complete the diode.

Low voltage diodes were fabricated by the method above, with a 2 μmthick n+ layer doped to 1×10¹⁶/cm³, a 1 μm thick n− layer doped to1×10¹⁶/cm³, and a thin 5 Å barrier layer of approximate compositionAl_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)N. An Al/Au ohmic contact was used. Standard dicingtechniques were performed to obtain individual devices.

FIG. 11, which is a plot of forward current I_(f) (A/cm²) on thevertical axis versus forward voltage V_(f) (V) on the horizontal axis,as well as Table 1 below, display the performance exhibited by thesedevices.

TABLE 1 I_(f) (A/cm²) V_(f) (V) V_(r) (I_(f)/I_(r) = 100) 100 0.15 −3.31200 0.18 −7.77

This diode structure exhibits minimal parasitic resistance. Besidesyielding a low V_(f), these diode may be operable at a current densityof greater than 100 A/cm², hence improving capacitance per unitamperage. At the 1 A level, these devices began to show the impact ofcurrent spreading, because the total metal thickness for the ohmiccontact was less than 0.5 μm. Metal thickening, to increase the ohmicmetal to greater than 2 μm, should ameliorate this issue. Because of thelow intrinsic barrier for these devices, they could be operated at ahigh forward current of 200 A/cm², thereby gaining a capacitanceadvantage.

These devices were then packaged using standard Ag—Sn based dieattachment techniques. The results for the packaged diodes are shown inFIG. 12 that, like FIG. 11, is a plot of forward current (I_(f)) on thevertical axis versus forward voltage (V_(f)) on the horizontal axis.

The diode of the invention can also be made in alternative embodiments.Instead of complete removal of the substrate, for example, a via can beetched in the substrate to remove the material under the active deviceand to retain the remainder of the substrate material for mechanicalsupport. A diode 200, made according to this second embodiment, isdepicted in FIG. 13, which is similar to FIG. 1. The diode 200 isfabricated in a manner similar to the process described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 2 through 7. A nucleation layer 216 is deposited on a SiCsubstrate 218, then an n+ semiconducting buffer layer 212 is depositedon the nucleation layer. An n− semiconducting layer 210 is deposited onthe buffer layer 212 and a semiconducting barrier layer 208 is depositedon the n− layer 210. A Schottky metal layer 206 is deposited on thebarrier layer 208.

Selected portions of the n+, n−, and buffer layers are then removed toform a mesa diode structure under the Schottky metal. Finally, a portionof the substrate 218 and the nucleation layer 216 is removed under themesa diode structure to form a via, then an ohmic contact layer 214 isdeposited on the substrate and in the via, such that the ohmic contactlayer electrically connects with the n+ layer 212.

A third embodiment of the diode can be implemented on a bulk GaN wafer,with the bulk GaN wafer being subsequently thinned to reduce parasiticsubstrate resistance. The bulk GaN wafer does not need to be completelyremoved since there is no heterostructure epi-substrate interface, aswith the GaN diode fabricated on a SiC substrate. Other than theelimination of this interfacial voltage drop, reduction of substrateparasitic will be a function of the extent of thinning of the GaNsubstrate wafer.

The third embodiment is shown as the diode 300, as depicted in FIG. 14,which is also similar to FIG. 1. This embodiment, like the secondembodiment, is fabricated using a process similar to that described inconjunction with FIGS. 2 through 7. A nucleation layer 316 is depositedon a GaN substrate 318, then an n+ semiconducting buffer layer 312 isdeposited on the nucleation layer. An n− semiconducting layer 310 isdeposited on the buffer layer 312 and a semiconducting barrier layer 308is deposited on the n− layer 310. A Schottky metal layer 306 isdeposited on the barrier layer 308.

Selected portions of the n+, n−, and buffer layers are then removed toform a mesa diode structure under the Schottky metal. The GaN substrate318 is thinned sufficiently to reduce parasitic resistance associatedwith the substrate, then an ohmic contact layer 314 is deposited on thesubstrate.

The preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated anddescribed above. Modifications and additional embodiments, however, willundoubtedly be apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore,equivalent elements may be substituted for those illustrated anddescribed herein, parts or connections might be reversed or otherwiseinterchanged, and certain features of the invention may be utilizedindependently of other features. Consequently, the exemplary embodimentsshould be considered illustrative, rather than inclusive, while theappended claims are more indicative of the full scope of the invention.

1. A diode, comprising: a conductive support layer; a Schottky metallayer on the conductive support layer; a semiconducting barrier layer onthe Schottky layer opposite the conductive support layer; an n−semiconducting layer on the barrier layer opposite the Schottky layer;an n+ semiconducting buffer layer on the n− layer opposite the barrierlayer; and an ohmic contact on the n+ layer opposite the n− layer. 2.The diode of claim 1, further comprising a metal bonding layer affixingthe Schottky layer to the support layer.
 3. The diode of claim 1,wherein the n+ layer, the n− layer, and the barrier layer comprisesGroup III nitrides.
 4. The diode of claim 1, wherein the Schottky metalis selected from the group consisting of Cr, Fe, Mn, Nb, Ni, NiCr, Sn,Ta, Ti, Ge, and W.
 5. The diode of claim 2, wherein the conductivesupport layer is metallized Si.
 6. A diode, comprising: a conductivesupport layer; a Schottky metal layer; a metal bonding layer affixingthe Schottky layer to the support layer; a 0-20 Å thick semiconductingbarrier layer of Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, with 0.15≦x≦0.45, disposed on theSchottky layer opposite the bonding layer; an n− semiconducting layer ofGaN, between 0.5 and 5 μm thick and doped with an impurity concentrationof between 1×10¹⁵/cm³ and 1×10¹⁷/cm³, disposed on the barrier layeropposite the Schottky layer; an n+ semiconducting buffer layer of GaN,between 0.5 and 5 μm thick and doped with an impurity concentration ofbetween 5×10¹⁷/cm³ and 5×10¹⁹/cm³, disposed on the n− layer opposite thebarrier layer; and an ohmic contact disposed on the n+ layer oppositethe n− layer.
 7. The diode of claim 1, exhibiting a V_(f) ofapproximately 0.2V.
 8. The diode of claim 1, exhibiting a V_(f) of lessthan 0.2V.
 9. The diode of claim 1, wherein said n+ semiconductingbuffer layer of GaN is between 0.5 and 5 μm thick and doped with animpurity concentration of between 5×10¹⁷/cm³ and 5×10¹⁹/cm³.
 10. Thediode of claim 1, wherein said n− semiconducting layer of GaN, isbetween 0.5 and 5 μm thick and doped with an impurity concentration ofbetween 1×10¹⁵/cm³ and 1×10¹⁷/cm³.
 11. The diode of claim 1, whereinsaid semiconducting barrier layer comprises Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N and isbetween 0-20 Å thick, with 0.15≦x≦0.45.
 12. The diode of claim 6,wherein the Schottky metal comprises a material from the groupconsisting of Cr, Fe, Mn, Nb, Ni, NiCr, Sn, Ta, Ti, Ge, W andcombinations thereof.
 13. The diode of claim 6, wherein the conductivesupport layer comprises a metallized layer.
 14. The diode of claim 6,wherein the conductive support layer is metallized Si.
 15. The diode ofclaim 6, exhibiting a V_(f) of approximately 0.2V.
 16. The diode ofclaim 6, exhibiting a V_(f) of less than 0.2V.
 17. The diode of claim 1,further comprising a bonding layer between the conductive support layerand the Schottky metal layer.